What Money Can Buy
by TunaForDesert
Summary: The foreign student sauntered in, offering money in exchange for their friendship. [TYL!Vongola]
1. Chapter 1

"How's Lambo doing at his school? I believe he joined a club, correct? I don't have to worry about I-pin. She's a great girl," said a man with rich auburn hair, as maids helped him to put on his expensive suit. Another man, who was standing by the door, nervously gulped before he answered shakily. His boss was gentle most of the time, but when it concerned a certain young Lightning Guardian of the Vongola Famiglia of Italy Mafia, the man's patience easily snapped.

"No, sir. Lambo-sama has not made any progress with his classmates. He spent all his free time alone."

Sawada Tsunayoshi was the Tenth, formerly unwilling, Boss of the great Vongola Famiglia. He was a young man of the age of 24, with great personality and looks to match. Women of Mafia threw themselves to his feet. Men of Mafia were torn between envy and admiration of his great status as the leader of the strongest Famiglia to have ever existed. The man sighed as the maids retreated, leaving the two men in the luxurious office room.

"I see. He still has problems with getting along with people of his age."

"What do you want to do now, sir?"

Tsuna brushed the imaginary dust on his pristine suit, "Where is my dear right-hand man? He should be here by now. His mission in Russia should be finished yesterday."

"No, sir, Gokudera-sama was not able to make it today. He gives you his most humble apologies. Something came up, and he requested to stay in Russia for three more days so that his men can work on the new program. The Russians were also being very stubborn and refused to cooperate and meet at the designated time," the man answered faithfully.

"And Reborn?"

"Still in Moscow too, sir, along with the former Lightning Arcobaleno."

An annoyed expression marred the brunet's features, "Verde, I understand, but what is Reborn still doing in Russia? The program has nothing to do with him. The only reason why he was in there in the first place was because of that new arrogant, wannabe big shot Famiglia causing trouble in our branch in Russia. And, that was settled two weeks ago."

"Women and great drinks, sir, you know how he likes it."

"I guess…" done fixing the cuffs, Tsuna looked at himself on the mirror. After making sure that nothing was out of place, he turned to see his faithful secretary.

"Then I guess a little visit wouldn't hurt."

XXX

Lambo knew as soon as he saw his older brother sitting at the end of the table that he was in trouble. Tsuna rarely visits and when he did it would be for business. After accepting his inheritance, Tsuna's schedule had been cramped with meetings and whatnot. Seeing the older man sitting there at the small (in comparison to the long and fancy one at Vongola's headquarter in Japan) table, with a small frown, Lambo gathered enough courage to greet him good morning.

"Good morning, Tsuna-nii."

"Good morning Lambo. I-pin has fixed you some breakfast. She has morning duty to attend to."

Lambo nodded. I-pin told him that the night before. He sat at the opposite end of the table which was plated with several western style breakfasts. The delicate napkins wrapped around the eating utensils were gently removed. He picked up the utensils and began to eat his breakfast. However, with Tsuna sitting there, who was watching him with hawk like eyes; it was a wonder on how he managed to swallow half of his portion. After what seemed like forever, Tsuna finally spoke up, though Lambo wished he hadn't.

"How's school?"

Lambo grimaced. He put down the utensils and stood up. He approached the coffee mixer and grabbed a mug from the small cabinet above him. After pouring coffee into the mug and taking a quick sip (coffee was never his thing, but Tsuna would reprimand him for drinking carbonated drink in the morning) he fingered the rim of the mug and nervously muttered.

"I don't know what you're talking about. School's been great. My scores are still on top of the class. I got the best grade in P.E. There's nothing to worry about."

"Social?"

There was the magic word.

Lambo took a deep breath before putting the mug on the counter and turned to face Tsuna, "I'm fine, Tsuna-nii. You don't have to worry. I made it through middle school, didn't I? Two more years and I'll be able to join ranks with you and the others. Give me two more years, and I'll serve you as your greatest Lightning Guardian."

Tsuna muttered something that sounded like, "You're the only Lightning Guardian I ever had."

Lambo grinned lazily before he took the mug and sat back on his place, "Trust me, Tsuna-nii. I'm doing okay. I'm not bullied. I have great reputations and looks. Everything is fine."

"I'm worried, Lambo."

The curly haired teen flinched.

"You don't have any friends from middle school. In elementary you had some, but for some reason, you started ignoring them after a few weeks. What's wrong?"

"Nothing-"

"Don't give me that."

Lambo groaned. He stood up and threw away the waste before he opened the water and washed the plate and utensils.

"I'll see what I can do."

Tsuna's sour face lit up for the first time since that morning.

"Well, how about I give you a ride to school? If you take the train now, you won't be able to make it in time."

Lambo wanted to protest since the limo brought unnecessary attention, but the words died on his throat as Chrome stormed into the two story house and hauled Lambo's bag from the couch in the living room.

XXX

"Oh. My. GOD."

Koganei Shinji breathed out in disbelief. His friends, Izuki Shun and Mitobe Rinnosuke were as shocked as he was but they did not overreact like the cat-boy did. On the gate of Seirin High was a dark limousine that looked as if it was straight out of a car magazine. The shiny black fancy vehicle was attracting attentions from the students.

"I never knew we had a filthy rich student," Izuki mused.

"Haven't you guys ever heard of Lambo Vongola?" a girl's voice from behind them interrupted. They turned to see their basketball coach, standing there with their captain, Hyuuga Junpei.

"Who?" Koganei tilted his head cutely.

Aida Riko sighed, "Lambo Vongola, a junior in Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun's class. You haven't heard of him, really?"

Mitobe made a noise and Koganei translated quickly, "Mitobe did. I didn't."

"Me too," Izuki said.

"Well, it's not like the teen's interesting or anything. Aside from his Italian heritage, great scores and looks, he's a pretty ordinary kid with some social problem," the five started walking to the gate as Riko talked.

"What? You thought he was a prince or something?" Hyuuga snorted.

Riko made a negative sound, "Not really. Rather, he's hard to approach because he exudes this loner wolf aura. His classmates approached him and strike conversations easily. But other than that, you better hope rocks start falling from the sky. He would rather sleep through his free periods."

"So, that's him?" Koganei pointed at the limo, where a foreign teen was stepping out of it. He looked disgruntled as he said something to the person in the car.

"I understand. I apologize for making you worry about me, nii-san. But I'll be fine, really," the teen said in a weary tone.

After a few seconds, Lambo nodded and closed the door before entering the school's ground as the limo drove away. The Italian seemed to ignore the attentions on him easily, as if he was used to unnecessary attentions. The crowd of students dispersed as the bell rang to signal that the first period would start shortly.

XXX

After Winter Cup, Seirin had been taking things easily. Riko decided that after months of rigorous training, she should tone down her tortures on them. Morning practice had been temporarily canceled so afternoon practice was very welcomed.

As the club members started doing easy drills, the door to the gym was slammed open and they half expected to see Seirin's basketball team's most frequent visitor, Kise Ryouta. But what they saw was someone else, someone that nobody expected.

"Yo, got some time to spare? I need to talk to you guys."

Lambo Vongola was standing there.

5 minutes later.

Kagami Taiga twitched dangerously as he gave a pissed smile, "What?"

Lambo Vongola sighed then in a slow tone like he was talking to a five year old, he repeated, "I need to join your club and make friends with you guys, or I'll be in trouble."

"B-but why?" Riko sputtered.

Lambo shrugged and put his hand on his pocket, "None of your concern. I just need you guys to be my 'friends' for some time, then we'll move on with our lifes without any strings attached."

"What the hell, kid? That's-"

Lambo cut Hyuuga off, "I'll pay you."

Silence befell the team, before Kuroko unexpectedly broke it, "What?"

"I'll pay you for your hard work. We'll do some outings together and maybe a training camp and I'll pay for the expense. Name your price and I'll pay for it. Please, I need this."

A moment of disbelief passed through, as the basketball players and their demon coach tried to process everything.

"Why are you doing this?" Koganei asked the teen seriously.

Lambo waved him off, "I need to convince my older brother that I have 'friends', or he won't stop worrying."

"Friendship cannot be bought," Kuroko said, a hint of anger rising in his tone.

The Italian raised an eyebrow, "And? Like I said, no strings attached. Just until new term starts, I'll pay for everything and a bonus will be given to you guys. How does a few hundred thousand yen sound? I'll even give charity to your club so you'll have a better budget. I heard about your first training camp, not a very pleasant experience."

The teen knew where it hurts the most as the boys paled. Riko's training and cooking was horrible. Even with Mitobe and Kagami's help, the girl still insisted to add vitamins and various other pills into their meals.

"We accept!" Hyuuga said determinedly as the others nodded. Even Kuroko agreed when the Italian mentioned charity.

Lambo smiled, "I knew you're going to agree. Well, I'm looking forward to working with you guys. See you."

Not long after Lambo left, Riko turned to the captain with a skeptical expression. Hyuuga shrugged and looked at Kuroko.

The pale teen answered the silent question, "We'll do what we can to help him. Whatever it is, I'm sure that he's not what he's trying to show people. We'll find out his problem and through that we'll slowly make our way to reach him out."

"Your observation skills are as scary as ever," Kagami fondly ruffled his partner's head. Kuroko made a disgruntled sound as he swatted Kagami's hand off.

"So the reason was not the money?" Riko asked her boys suspiciously.

The teens snorted, "Of course not. The money comes first."

* * *

End chapter.

**A/N:** This fic will not be necessarily long. Just a few chapters. The Arcobalenos are in their adult form. Why? Let's just go with that.

* * *

Edited version © LenXKagamine12234

黒子のバスケ © Fujimaki Tadatoshi


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Lambo came with Kagami and Kuroko to practice.

"So…" Lambo yawned, "What are we going to do?"

Riko twitched dangerously before replying, "Nothing, brat. Just watch us practicing."

And so Lambo did.

_[20 minutes later]_

"This is boring. Don't you have something more interesting?" Lambo frowned slightly. Riko who was standing beside him twitched again. "We'll have a practice match after they completed this menu, second year versus freshmen."

During the practice match, Lambo's eyes were both open in interest. His mouth popped open, and a small 'oh' escaped his lips as Kagami made another super jump and dunked. Riko smirked at him.

"Bo-Bongore-kun!" Tsuchida called out to the boy. Lambo smiled a bit as he walked over to the older teen, "Just call me Lambo, senpai. Being called Vongola reminds me of my older brother."

"Ah," Tsuchida smiled at him warmly, "Would you like to shoot some hoops?" the sophomore raised a ball. Lambo cocked his head to one side and shrugged. He took the ball and got ready to shoot.

"You're quite athletic, I've heard," Riko's voice came up from behind him. Lambo smirked mysteriously and whispered, "You don't know half of it." He threw the ball easily from the three pointer line. The ball smoothly slipped from his hands and made it into the basket.

Hyuuga who was watching along with the others raised an eyebrow, "You sure you don't want to take basketball seriously? That's some serious talent in you, kid."

Lambo turned to them, flexing his wrists, "Nah…it's not going to save anyone's life."

Everyone noticed the weird way Lambo put it. The teen then snapped his head up, startling them.

"W-what is it?" Izuki asked.

The Italian gave them the brightest grin they've ever seen from him, "Come over to my house today. I'm introducing you to my sister."

That sounded like an order more than anything.

XXX

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe Lambo made some friends! It seems Tsuna-nii's visit yesterday paid off after all! Just wait until Fuuta gets home later today! He'll be so excited! Do you want to stay over? We've got a large guest room upstairs!"

Seirin's basketball team smiled awkwardly at the overexcited Chinese girl who was fussing over them like there was no tomorrow. They knew that there was no way this girl was Lambo's biological sister, but the girl was chattering endlessly like a mother whose son brought a girlfriend for the first time home. Lambo had left them to be entertained by her and went upstairs to get a quick shower.

"This house…was not what I expected it to be," Riko said as she looked around. The Chinese girl, I-pin, smiled, "Getting a big house is just a waste of money. Not to mention how empty it would be! There's only three of us living in this house, me, Lambo and Fuuta. Fuuta is another adopted brother of ours, by the way. He's away on a business trip with Bianchi-nee."

Seirin accepted the drinks that were offered to them. The Chinese girl smiled at them like they were little children.

"Why are you all adopted?" Kagami asked. Kuroko jabbed him on the ribs as the other freshmen hissed at him for the question.

I-pin laughed, "No, no, it's okay. It's been a while since I last heard that question. Lambo's family runs a big business in Italy. When he was five, he was sent to Japan for some tutoring from nii-san because at that time nii-san was under the tutelage of the best tutor in the business. I came to Japan when I was the same age as Lambo. My master sent me for training. I come from a very traditional martial arts family, you see. And after a few years of living with Sawa- I mean, nii-san, Reborn-san and Maman, we just couldn't leave, you know? So we stayed. Nii-san is our guardian after Maman."

A small giggle erupted from her at her last sentence. Seirin looked at each other confusedly.

"I-pin, don't you have to prepare our dinner now?" Lambo's voice came from the stairs. I-pin pouted, and the rest looked at where the voice came from. Lambo was approaching them. A simple white shirt and black pants were adorning his body, and there was a white towel on his head, the water still dripping from his hair.

"Hai, hai," she waved him off. Then she turned to them, "Please wait for a moment. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. It was really nice meeting you guys, really!" the girl stood up and walked away to the direction of the kitchen. Lambo huffed and flopped down into the seat I-pin vacated.

"She didn't say anything unnecessary, did she?" there was a hint of distrusting in his tone.

"No, she didn't," Riko answered firmly, her eyes narrowed at the attitude. The look disappeared from Lambo's face, and in its place was a small _goddamned_ smirk, "So innocent...all of you. That's why I hate people like you."

"What?" Hyuuga asked distractedly. Lambo smiled and shrugged. Riko narrowed her eyes further at what she heard. They then heard the front being opened. A faint _'tadaima'_ was heard before a gorgeous sandy-haired man appeared, dressed in a suit without jacket accompanied with a scarf around his neck. The man blinked at the guests in the living room.

"Lambo, you brought friends over?" he asked as he approached them. Lambo flipped the channels on the TV and answered without even acknowledging the man.

"Yeah, got something to say about that?" Lambo finally turned to stare at him challengingly. The man just smiled, "No, it's nice to see you finally making friends."

The man then took a seat beside Lambo and looked at the Seirin members who were scattered around sofas in the living room. The man thrust a hand to Mitobe, who was the closest to him, "I'm Fuuta, the master of this house. Well, not really, but since I'm the oldest, I technically am."

By the time the man, Fuuta finished his sentence, he already shook all of their hands. The man then took his seat back and smiled at them before turning to Lambo, "Tsuna-nii called. Maman and Papa are back from their latest honeymoon. They want to see us."

Lambo grunted uninterestedly, "I'm going this Saturday. You go ahead with I-pin."

Fuuta stood up and sighed, "I can't go too. I have a meeting with Hibari-nii. I have to go to Namimori tomorrow, and God knows how long this trip will take." He turned to Seirin and gave a warm smile.

"It was nice meeting all of you. Please take care of Lambo. I know he's a handful, but he's a good kid inside," he bowed at them. Riko immediately stood up and frantically waved her arms, "No! No! It's okay! We don't really do anything! I mean-"

Fuuta laughed warmly, cutting off Riko's words, "You've found great friends, Lambo." He turned around and went upstairs, leaving the teenagers in the living room.

"Your siblings are so nice…" Furihata said a bit awkwardly. Lambo shrugged.

Dinner was eventful. Even though Lambo did not talk much, Fuuta and I-pin made up for it by asking questions about their families and matches. Seirin was more than happy talking about their achievements in Winter Cup. Kagami and I-pin became kindred spirits, trading recipes with one another. After dinner, I-pin once again asked if they want to stay over. The basketball players and the coach politely refused, not wanting to impose any longer.

"Well, you all are welcome anytime. Please come by, it's a bit boring here with only me and Lambo. Fuuta is always away."

Riko smiled at the Chinese girl, "Yes, we'll take that offer. Good night."

After saying their goodbyes, Seirin walked to the train station unhurriedly.

"His family is so nice. I wonder what his big brother is like." Koganei said. The others nodded in agreement.

"Ahh, I think there's really no problem with that boy, after all," Hyuuga said contently, a small smile dancing across his lips.

"No," Riko halted. The boys also stopped, looking at their solemn coach. "I…heard something that cannot be ignored."

"Yes," Kuroko responded, "He said….he hates people like us. We're too innocent, he said."

"What does that mean?!" Kagami asked, his face furious.

"I don't know," Kuroko turned around.

"There's something going on, and we will find out," Riko said resolutely, fire burning in her eyes.

XXX

[Two days later]

"Pack up tonight," Lambo crossed his legs, staring down at the basketball players with a haughty smirk, "We're going to the beach tomorrow."

* * *

End chapter.

**A/N**: Ahh, looks like it'll be longer than I expected…or something. I'll figure it out.

_Next chapter: Beach!_

* * *

黒子のバスケ © Fujimaki Tadatoshi


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